The Singles Jukebox

Pop, to two decimal places.

Dal*Shabet ft. Bigtone – Hit U

“Hey, bad boy!”


[Video][Website]
[5.55]

Iain Mew: This falls well short of their previous singles in both cuteness and hooks-per-minute, but its resolute lack of forgiveness is powerful in its own way. The guitar notes that underpin the song howl with hurt beauty and Dal*Shabet tread an impressive emotional line, sounding like they could cry or yell at any moment but keeping things just in check in order to deliver a more definitive statement that this is the end.
[7]

Sabina Tang: Nicely dramatic song in search of singers with more convincing delivery than these girls, who just make me think longingly of T-ara’s un-subbed 20-minute episodic gangland revenge drama music videos. Those are no better or worse than the average Korean gangland revenge film I watched in the movie theatre (take that as you like), whereas Dal*Shabet don’t even pull off the pink blood. 
[6]

Jer Fairall: Seriousness by way of screeching hair metal guitars, abrasive synth squelches and an overall feeling of joylessness, but where the desired tone of menace really falls short is in the girls’ drab performances. It might be the most fuddy-duddy critical move in the world to hold any modern girl group to Phil Spector standards, but seriously, someone get these girls some Ronettes and Darlene Love records.
[3]

John Seroff: “Hit U” is serviceable enough squeaky clean K-pop that doesn’t inspire or rankle. I do have a few questions though: Why does a Korean band have an Israeli sounding name? And why do some Eastern girl/boy bands make the blood types of its members common knowledge?
[5]

Jonathan Bogart: I’m always down for threats of violence directed by women at men (which is totally patriarchal and condescending of me, by the way), and if the fizz here never totally bubbles over into the gleeful chaos I was hoping for, it strikes a bad-ass-enough pose to do for now.
[7]

Edward Okulicz: Fierce, in every way. I love how Bigtone is used as a foil to make the girls seem tougher. The guitars pull the same trick Katy Perry and Kelis once did, but this time, the mix is set to lacerate rather than tickle.  This could have crossed over to U.S. pop radio at any point in the last five years, in fact. One complaint: the intro that doubles as the outro is so much better than the actual chorus.
[7]

Alfred Soto: I can’t get past how much this sounds like an adventurous Enrique Iglesias single, or J.C. Chasez angling for a comeback.
[4]

Brad Shoup: While the text does ping from revulsion to pity to annoyance, there’s a major difference between “Hit U” and other many-minded singles: the faces on display are poses for public consumption. Only the supremely weary singing of the middle eight exists in a recognizably personal sphere. E-Tribe buries the sobbing guitarwork at the beginning in favor of a minor-key steppin’-out shuffle, further agitating the waters. Rarely do I feel the absence of a ballad this strongly.
[3]

W.B. Swygart: Slamming and pouty in an utterly numbing way, that just leaves me wanting to listen to Bucks Fizz instead. At least they had a bit of drama, bit of tension – this just feels like being run over by a really shiny lorry.
[4]

Michaela Drapes: I look forward to the exciting forthcoming collaboration between Dal*Shabet and Nicki Minaj, which I hope will be a pink blood-strewn recreation of Battle Royale. People should pay me to think these things up, clearly.
[8]

Katherine St Asaph: The best Britney comeback single that never was. It’d even have intertextuality!
[7]

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